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Thanksgiving Recap 2012

Hi friends!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend filled with turkey and the accompaniments, especially cranberry sauce (with ridges, natch!), shoe buckles and all things Pilgrim.  We celebrated Thanksgiving in true lazy new parent style, with a Whole Foods catered meal.  (Mostly – I made artichoke dip, which I always make, citrus-roasted brussels sprouts, and a butternut squash and sweet potato puree with brown sugar and toasted pecans.  Everything else – turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, carrots and dessert – was provided by the WF.)  We told our relatives that we were staying put for the holiday and that anyone who wanted to join us was welcome, but don’t expect an elaborate home-cooked feast this year.  Hubby’s mom and sister took us up on the invitation and we enjoyed a low-key weekend, only venturing out for a family stroll around the neighborhood with the BOB on Friday.  It was quiet, and relaxed, and perfect.

Some pics…

Peanut snuggles with her aunt.  It’s a good thing they got along so well, because – best news of the weekend – Auntie E is going to nanny for us for a few months when I go back to work!  My mom had promised to give us a few months as well, so between the two of them we should be able to get through until Peanut can get into our chosen daycare (she’s on a LONG wait list) without having to hire a stranger.  We would have figured something out if we had to, but we’re so much happier to know that Peanut will be in the capable hands of first her aunt, and then her Nana, two people who we trust completely and who love Peanut almost as much as we do.  The perfect set of circumstances arose for Auntie E to spend a few months with us and we’re overjoyed to have found an arrangement that is good for all four of us (hubby, me, sis-in-law and Peanut).

We enjoyed a ginger cocktail to start our meal – I made it up and then looked forward to it for several days, and it was exactly as I imagined it would be!  Maybe I missed my calling?  Recipe coming in December, and this will definitely be on my Christmas and New Year’s menus.

Peanut hopes that you gobbled up plenty of time with your loved ones this weekend too!

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Giving Thanks

I have a confession to make.  Last year, I didn’t feel very thankful.  Oh, I decorated.  And spent time with family and friends.  I even started a gratitude journal in an effort to be more conscious of the good things in my life (the project was short-lived).  You might say I adopted a fake-it-’til-you-make-it strategy – I really, really tried to focus on all the things I had to be thankful for.  A sweet and wonderful hubby.  Great friends.  Family.  Hobbies that make me happy.  A good job, warm house and enough money to buy healthy food, nice clothes and the little things that make life a bit more fun – dinners out, books, wine, gourmet tea…  The chance to travel the world (I’d recently returned from a fabulous trip to England).  I had seriously good stuff going on in my life, and I knew it.  But I still couldn’t really get into the Thanksgiving spirit, because I couldn’t stop thinking about the one thing I wanted that I didn’t have.

This year?  This year I’m thankful.

I’m thankful that I finally got the chance to be a mom.  I’m thankful for no morning sickness and for all the people who were excited for me when I announced my news.  I’m thankful for the good prenatal care I got, especially for the sonogram techs and doctors who caught the complications I had and made sure that Peanut was delivered safe and healthy (albeit early and tiny).  I’m thankful for the family and friends who came rushing down to Virginia the moment hubby called with the news of my surprise early delivery, and for the way they rallied around us – visiting Peanut and me in the hospital, filling our fridge with food, vacuuming the house (thanks, Mom!) and mowing the lawn (thanks, Dad!) and encouraging us as we began a long slog of seven weeks in the NICU.  I’m thankful for the friends who sent cards, flowers, clothes and diapers, and even made special trips to the hospital to visit with me while Peanut was NICU-ified.  I’m thankful for the attorneys in my firm, who sent a beautiful gift basket and a flurry of kind notes and emails.  I’m thankful for the moms I bonded with in the NICU – sharing delivery horror stories, hatred for the pump room, hopes for discharge and plans for starting a play group once we all get through flu season.  I’m thankful for the NICU alums who told me to hang tight and who gave me plenty of hugs, both virtual and in-person, and who encouraged me and shared their stories and promised me that it wouldn’t last forever.  I’m especially thankful for the wonderful doctors and nurses who worked night and day to help Peanut come home healthy, and I’m thankful for October 11, 2012, the day she finally did.  I’m thankful for Peanut’s smart and caring pediatrician and for how Peanut has grown and thrived since coming home.  I’m thankful for 3:00 a.m. feedings and dirty diapers (yes, even dirty diapers!) and adorable onesies and cute facial expressions.  I’m thankful for the baby snuggles I know I’ll miss someday when Peanut is an independent, headstrong toddler.  I’m thankful that Peanut has such a great daddy and I have such an amazing partner to share this parenting experience.

There’s no faking it this year – I could go on and on listing the things for which I am thankful.  Even looking back on a 31-week delivery and a 7-week NICU stay, I feel awash in blessings.

What are you thankful for this year?

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Peanut: 3 Months

Wow – today Peanut is three months old!  I can’t believe it; this is going by so quickly.  (Let’s play a game: how many cliches can I fit into this post?  Just kidding.)

So far, this month has been my favorite – probably because we’ve been home all month.  I haven’t gone to the NICU once this month, and that feels amazing.  Instead, we’ve been doing the things that I always imagined doing – going for walks, snuggling in the nursery, reading books and playing.

Peanut is wide-eyed and awake for chunks of the day now (even when she’s supposed to be napping…) and I’m in the process of figuring out when I should be encouraging her to nap (and grow) and when I should be engaging with her.  It’s a fine line to walk: I want her to get all the sleep she needs, but I also want her to get all the Mommy interaction she needs.  And since she can’t tell me where the cutoff is, it’s a process of trial and error for me to figure out how far she can go before she gets overtired and we ALL get cranky as a result.  Some days we’ve walked this line really well.  Other days…

Nana – a.k.a. my mom – asked me what I had done to annoy her.  The answer: sat down.  Peanut likes to be in motion.  Stroller, Mommy’s arms, whatever.  As long as we’re wearing out the carpet or the wheels on the BOB, she’s cool.  But when Mommy decides that it’s time to sit down after an hour of making circles around the dining room… chaos!  But I don’t mind, because… that face.

Oh, yes, Peanut’s gigantic personality comes out more and more each day.  She grins (hubby thinks it’s still just gas, and it probably is, but it’s still adorable), pouts, sticks out her tongue, and makes little gurgles and grunts all. day. long.  Sometimes when she’s really talkative I just call Nana and let them chat.  They’ve had whole conversations without me.

This month we finally got around to buying ourselves a babysitter swing.  At first, Peanut wasn’t sure what to think of it, but lately she’s been falling asleep in it.  Thank.  Goodness.  She spends most of the day snuggling in my arms, but sometimes I need to put her down for a few minutes and it’s good to have a place to set her where she’s safe and not screaming, now that she’s declared war on her crib.  It’s especially nice to have when we want to eat dinner and Peanut wants to hang with us.  And bonus, it makes rain noises, which we’ve discovered Peanut loooooooves.  Maybe she’ll grow up to be a meteorologist.

We also celebrated Peanut’s first Halloween this month!  She dressed up as a ballerina.  I wanted to get her a more elaborate costume, but it just didn’t work out.  By the time I made it out to the store, everything in mini-size was already sold.  I managed to find a newborn-sized tutu at Target and paired it with a t-shirt she already owned (which had a little bear ballerina on it) and called it good.  It worked; she charmed the trick-or-treaters and the grandparents melted at the ballerina photo.  Next year I’ll plan ahead more and find a “real” costume, not at the last minute.

Peanut at 3 Months:

Adjusted Age: 1 month
Weight: ~6.25 pounds or so (last weighed in at 5.5 pounds on 11/2)
Length: ~19.5 inches or so (last measured at 19.25 inches on 11/2)
Sleep: I don’t want to jinx anything, so I’m almost afraid to say this, but Peanut has been sleeping surprisingly well at night recently.  At first she was a little monster after her 9:00 p.m. feeding and I had a few nights where I stayed up with her the entire time until Daddy took over at 1:00 a.m., but lately she seems to have figured out the concept of “bedtime.”  The tradeoff is that she is violently anti-nap during the day.  But if the bargain is that I can’t get anything done during the day because I am cuddling her for hours on end, and then she sleeps at night… I’ll take that deal.  May it continue this way.
Likes: Walking in her stroller or being carried around by Mommy and Daddy; swinging in her new swing, but only when she’s in the mood; listening to rain sounds on her swing and her sleep sheep; being held sideways by Daddy (a technique from The Happiest Baby on the Block)
Dislikes: Baths (still!); when Mommy sits down after walking for awhile; tummy time; tutus
Milestones: Rolled over intentionally on 11/4 during tummy time with Daddy!  And Mommy thinks some of her smiles might have been real – not social smiles, but smiles of happiness, since they tend to come when she’s drifting off to sleep while being cuddled.  Lots of gurgles, starting to do a little bit of babbling.
Quirks: Major temper!  Lady lets you know when she’s not happy about something.

Next month, Peanut will celebrate her first Thanksgiving, and we hope to see more good growth and adorable smiles!

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A Special Someone, A Special Day

Today is hubby’s birthday.  Hurray!  He made it another year!

But seriously.  Today is hubby’s birthday.  Today is a day to celebrate my favorite guy, my partner, my traveling buddy, my dinner date, the greatest dad in the world, and my best friend.  And celebrate I will.

Happy birthday, handsome.  Peanut and I will both love you forever.

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Nursery Tales: Riddle Me This

Q: Who needs three trips to Home Depot in order to complete one simple, inexpensive dresser upgrade?

A: A NICU mom.

I wanted a little contrast in Peanut’s room – it was a lot of white and pastels – so I decided to bring in a touch of black here and there to ground things out.  I hung simple black curtain rods to contrast with the white curtains (Peanut loves to stare at the high contrast area between the curtain rod and the curtains – bonus) and decided that it would be a fun, easy upgrade if I switched the white wooden pulls on Peanut’s white dresser for matte black ones.  So I took myself off to Home Depot, thinking I’d pick up the pulls, install them in ten minutes or less, and have a cool “custom” dresser to show for my minimal efforts.

Ha.

Home Depot Trip #1: Scoped out the pulls, picked a design I liked and purchased six pulls – one for each of the six drawers.

Womp Womp: Realized that there are two pulls on each drawer, for a total of twelve, not six.

Home Depot Trip #2: Purchased six more pulls from the same bin.

Womp Womp: One of the pulls was mistakenly dropped into the wrong bin and didn’t match the rest.  Partly my fault (I didn’t check them closely enough when I was grabbing six more pulls to buy) and partly just unfortunate circumstances (the pull being in the wrong bin to begin with).

Home Depot Trip #3: Return the wrong pull and pick up the right one.

Win!

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A Fairacre Binge

Village School by Miss Read(Image Source)

I don’t know if it’s the cold weather that is making me want to curl up under a blanket with a cup of tea and a cozy read… or the approaching busy holiday season that has me yearning for a simpler life… or just that they’re good books, but I’ve been on a Fairacre binge lately.

The Chronicles of Fairacre, by Miss Read, are a series of books describing the limitless charm of life in a small (some would say backward) English village just after World War II.  The main character of the series is Miss Read herself, the headmistress of the village school.  Miss Read is a spinster who likes her independent life in the village schoolhouse, and guards her freedom jealously even as the townfolk drop numerous not-so-subtle hints that she should be married.  From her post at the headmistress’s desk, Miss Read shares her wry observations of life in a rural village – from the joys and challenges of educating the country children, to the sweetness of a life measured in seasons rather than minutes and the quirks of her colleagues, acquaintences and friends, nothing escapes her observant eye.  Fairacre is peopled with memorable characters: Mrs Pringle, the cantankerous school cleaner; Miss Clare, the sweet retired infants’ teacher; Mr and Mrs Annett, the headmaster of nearby Beech Green school and his wife, herself a former Fairacre infants’ teacher; the Vicar, Gerald Partridge and his wife; Mr Willet, the reliable school caretaker, and more.  And then there are the children, a good-hearted group with excess energy and limited grammar (despite Miss Read’s heroic efforts).

Miss Read had been on my radar for years before I finally got around to reading Village School, the first in the series, earlier this year.  Village School starts the series off on a slow, ponderous note as Miss Read takes the reader through one year in the life of Fairacre School.  It’s easy to think that nothing happens in Fairacre – although there are plenty of little events, Village School is a particularly quiet book.  But the series picks up and Miss Read finds her voice in the second installment, Village Diary, in which she again records a year in her life, but this time focuses more on the adult residents of Fairacre, which gives her pen more scope for the gentle sarcasm she does so well.  I enjoyed Village School, but with Village Diary I was hooked.  I visited Fairacre again in September, dropping in for the third installment, Storm in the Village, in which the atomic energy company ponders a compulsory purchase of land near Fairacre, intending to build a housing estate for its workers, and the villagers unite in opposition.  (My September visit was just what I needed to take away some of the NICU stress.)  I can’t think of a better place to while away a quiet afternoon… or pass a stressful time… than in between the pages of one of these sweet reads.

And now it’s November, and I’ve gone on a bit of a Fairacre bender.  So far this month, I’ve read Miss Clare Remembers, Over the Gate, The Fairacre Festival, and Emily Davis – the fourth through the seventh installments.  And I’m headed back to the library for more.  I just can’t get enough of this gentle, sweet, yet subtly witty schoolteacher and her associates.

Have you read the Fairacre books?  Or ever gone on a series binge of your own?  Do share.

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Zero to Hero: Postpartum Goal-Setting

I’m writing this post as I try to catch my breath from my first postpartum workout.  (I’ve been going to yoga class but I don’t consider those workouts because I have been attending a relaxing, noodle-ifying all levels class, not the strenuous vinyasa flow I usually favor, so I haven’t worked up much of a sweat.)  Actually, more than my first postpartum workout, this was my first workout in a LONG time.  Between pregnancy exhaustion in the first trimester, and then being put on activity restrictions and later bed rest toward the end of my pregnancy, plus C-section recovery, I can’t even remember the last time I laced up the old Mizunos and went out for a good sweat sesh.  Today I decided it was finally time to get back in the saddle.  Peanut was sleeping and I was relatively well rested, so I hit the treadmill and added a short kettlebell routine for good measure.  And I can’t lie: it was hard, yo.  My cardio endurance is all but gone, and my muscles were screaming after just two shortened circuits with the ‘bell.

I wasn’t expecting to fall right back into my old ability.  I’m not the same person who (slowly) ran the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler and the Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon, who could spend two hours scampering around the tennis court or climb a mountain or power through a Jillian Michaels workout on the advanced level.  Stuff has happened – I had a high risk pregnancy and major surgery, and I’ve spent the last two months going to and from the NICU and then living in 3-hour intervals (Peanut is on a schedule, and she STICKS to it, people.)  I sleep when I can, eat when I can, and workouts have just not happened.

But you know what?  I’m calling it.  That’s over.  It’s time to get back to my old self.  There was once a time when, faced with a stressful day or a tough piece of news, nothing would make me feel better the way sweating would.  Circuit training was my stress release, and running was my “Me Time.”  I ate healthy, whole foods and fit in workouts almost every day, and I had tons of energy and a positive outlook.  I miss that version of myself (especially the tons of energy part) and I want her back.  So as I ramp up the workouts and dial down the convenience foods, here are my postpartum fitness goals:

Short Term: Run the GW Parkway Classic, April 2013

I’ve been wanting to run this race for awhile (the t-shirts are really cute) and there’s no better race to use as a “goal race” to encourage me to get back into running.  I haven’t run since early in pregnancy – something about it just felt wrong to me.  (Call it mother’s intuition, since I later found out that due to the complications I had, it would have been a pretty bad idea for me to run.)  My last race was February, 2012 – I was about four weeks pregnant but didn’t know it, and I spent the entire race (which was on snow-packed trails) wondering why I felt so lousy.  (I figured it out about a week later, when I finally took the ol’ pregnancy test.)

I really enjoyed running races – I was never fast, never going to win anything, but I liked the crowds and the racing scene and the sense of accomplishment after finishing, especially a long distance.  The t-shirts didn’t hurt, either.  And I miss that atmosphere and the feeling of achieving a goal.  So I’m planning to get back into running races, mostly shorter 5K and 10K distances, at least for awhile.  (Training for a half marathon was time consuming, and I just don’t want to spend that much time away from Peanut.)  But it’s good to have one larger race on the calendar, so that’s what the Parkway will be for me.  Five months out – I’ve got a lot of work to do, but I’m excited.

Medium Term: Lose the Baby Weight

I’m not going to try to tell you that I didn’t gain any baby weight, or that I don’t want to lose it, because you’d know I was lying.  You’re a smart bunch.  Of course I’m more interested in general health, how my clothes fit, how I feel and what kind of endurance I have for my daily activities than in a number on a scale.  Still, the number on the scale is one measurement and it’s higher at the moment than I would like because, duh, I was pregnant.  But now I’m not pregnant anymore and I’d like to feel like myself again since I’m no longer sharing space with another person.  I consider this my medium term goal because I don’t plan on doing any crash diets – slow and steady wins the race.  I’d love to be at my goal, or even well on my way, by the time Peanut turns one year old.  But if I’m not as far along as I planned, that’s okay too – life throws curve balls sometimes (hello, seven weeks in the NICU) and there’s no telling what I might have to deal with.  Health is a lifestyle, and consistency is more important than arbitrary deadlines.  That said, I’m going to dial up my efforts to eat well and move more and get rid of my extra Peanut cushioning.

Long Term: Be a Healthy Mom

I’m a fan of the TV show The Biggest Loser.  (Well, not as much recently – after season 11, the contestants stopped supporting one another or treating one another with much respect, and now it kind of gives me the sads.  But I still watch, because I keep holding out hope that this will be the season they ditch the drama and go back to being heartwarming.)  Anyway.  A lot of the BL contestants are moms who ended up unhealthy because they put everyone else’s needs before their own and forgot how to take care of themselves.  I don’t want that to be me.  Now, I’m not saying I ignore Peanut.  She needs to eat when she needs to eat.  And sleep, and do tummy time, and get love and snuggles.  She’s clearly my top priority.  But part of taking care of Peanut has to include taking care of me, too, because Peanut deserves a healthy mom.  She deserves a mom who shows her that exercise can be fun and fulfilling, and that healthy foods can be delicious and also make her feel good inside, and that there’s room for the occasional treat too.  I want to spend many years setting a good example for Peanut and teaching her the skills she needs to live a long, healthy life, and that starts with me walking the walk.

If I have it my way, Peanut will be a kid who grows up helping me prepare tasty, healthy meals with tons of veggies, who enjoys eating fresh foods and who understands what foods are going to make her feel good and why.  And she’ll be a kid who sees Mom set goals, work hard and achieve them – crossing the finish line of a race, for instance.  I hope she gets bitten by the running bug too, and maybe joins Girls on the Run or signs up for the kids’ one-mile fun runs while Mom is running a race.  She’ll see me making movement and health a part of my life, and hopefully she will be inspired to make it a part of her life too.  This isn’t a goal that can ever be completely achieved, because I don’t think I’ll ever be done trying to set her a good example or live my best life in her honor.  But I consider living a healthy lifestyle of my own to be a crucial part of what it means for me to take care of Peanut.

So, there you have it: my zero to hero goals.  I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again.  Next week – my plan for getting there!

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Nursery Tales: Now Panic and Freak Out

You know that English World War II slogan “Keep Calm and Carry On”?  I love that slogan.  (I even have a bookmark with it.)  But I also like the silly adaptations that some artists and companies have come out with.  For instance, “Keep Calm and Put the Kettle On” or “Keep Calm and Bake On” – I’ve been considering adding a print with one of those slogans to my kitchen.  And recently in Kramerbooks I happened upon a journal with the slogan “Now Panic and Freak Out.”  It cracks me up.  Except for when it hits a little too close to home.

I was making steady progress on Peanut’s room.  I had…

  • Cleared the clutter from the baby’s room
  • Painted the walls a bright, happy yellow
  • Purchased some furniture (a dresser and crib, plus crib mattress)
  • Purchased Peanut’s bedding and a few art and decor items (not nearly everything, but a start)
  • Sent her big art piece off for framing

And then this happened…

I was getting kind of worried about getting everything done by my October 20th due date.  And then the universe threw me a gigantic curve ball, in the form of a baby who showed up two months early.  Suddenly, decorating the nursery wasn’t the top item on my agenda anymore.  Hubby and did what we could do in the evenings, but we were pretty drained after the long days in the NICU.

Here’s the blitz of activity starting just before Peanut’s arrival:

  • Hubby put the crib together (such a typical “Dad” thing to do, right?).  We ordered our crib, dresser, and most of the decorative elements from Land of Nod, the baby and kids’ arm of Crate & Barrel.  And… WOW.  They’re not paying or perking me to say this (like I’m important enough, ha) and we paid for everything we got from Land of Nod ourselves, so I really mean it when I tell you we’ve been insanely impressed with them.  Beautiful pieces, great quality, fast and professional delivery, AND they sent us an Aden + Anais muslin swaddling blanket as a “thank you” for buying our crib from them!  Well played, Land of Nod, well played.
  • Peanut’s rocking chair arrived from Pottery Barn Kids – it’s purrrrrrty.
  • I ordered curtains, book and toy storage, and various decorative elements and then piled them in the corner of the room.
  • We stocked up on diapers, wipes, baby bath products and first aid items so that we were ready to take care of Peanut when she came home from the hospital.
  • A couple of hubby’s very kind coworkers picked up Peanut’s big art piece from the frame shop, where it had languished for weeks because they called me to tell me it was ready on the day I was put on bed rest, four days before Peanut’s untimely arrival.
  • Washed Peanut’s linens and made her bed (and you’ll get pics soon – wait until you see her bedding, it’s so stinking cute I even wish it came in grown-up sizes).
  • Washed and put away all of Peanut’s adorable tiny little outfits – she wore a few of her preemie t-shirts in the hospital, but the rest (and newborn-sized clothes that people have bought for her to grow into) got laundered and put away to wait for her to come home.
  • Installed book ledges and put away toys.
  • Installed curtain rods and hung curtains.
  • Set up her toiletries and diapering station for easy middle-of-the-night access.
  • Hung Peanut’s big print between her windows, wall letters over her dresser and flower hooks on her doors, and slapped some decals above her crib (not my original plan, but let’s be honest, hardly anything has gone according to my original plan with this kid).

The first few weeks after she was born were a whirlwind of figuring out the NICU, and hubby and I were both completely wiped out at the end of each day.  We’ve got a better handle on things now – I think – and Peanut’s nursery ended up being very close to ready (only missing a couple of decorative items) in time for her homecoming.  And the fact that it’s not impeccably decorated to my exacting standards?  Meh.  I know that all babies need is food, shelter, clean diapers on their butts, and lots and lots of love – and Peanut has all of that in spades.  The rest is just gravy.  I have one small project to share with you, and then the final nursery tour to follow…

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Parks & Rec, A New Obsession

(Image Source)

I’m not one to watch a lot of television.  Never have been.  (As a child, I would get up and wander away from Sesame Street after five minutes because I got bored.)  There just aren’t many television shows that I want to spend my time on.  If I’m going to be sitting in front of a TV screen, it’ll usually be showing a hockey game.  Preferably a Sabres game, the MSG feed with R.J., and the Sabres are winning.  And it’s a Ryan Miller shutout, and Drew Stafford gets two hat tricks.  Whatever, I really don’t ask for that much.  (I miss hockey so much.)

What was I talking about?  Oh, right, TV.  Anyway, there are a few shows that I do like.  I watch The Office religiously.  I’m also devoted to Glee (Finchel forever!) and Downton Abbey (I secretly fantasize about being BFFs with Anna or Lady Mary).  And occasionally – usually on a rainy Sunday – I sink back into one of my late-great favorites, like Friends (I’m a Monica), Gilmore Girls (I’d like to say I’m a Rory, but if I’m being honest I’m probably… a Paris), and Jeeves and Wooster (tootle pip!).  But there’s one show that I’ve always been intrigued by but never watched.  It would come on after The Office and my DVR would usually catch the cold open, and inevitably I’d crack up at the characters’ antics and remark to hubby, “Why don’t we watch this show?  I think I’d really enjoy it.”

I’m talking about Parks and Recreation.  The premise is this: Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is Deputy Director of the Parks and Recreation Department of the great city of Pawnee, Indiana – “First in Friendship, Fourth in Obesity.”  Leslie is bubbly, idealistic, and filled with enthusiasm for local government, parks, and her city – much to the perpetual annoyance of her Libertarian boss, Ron Swanson.  Together with the rest of the Parks Department employees – flamboyant Tom, taciturn April, fabulous Donna and perpetual scapegoat Jerry – Leslie works tirelessly to improve Pawnee and defeat the evil Library Department.  When beautiful nurse Ann Perkins comes to a town forum to complain about the pit behind her house (into which her unemployed musician boyfriend, Andy, has fallen and broken both of his legs), Leslie decides to turn the pit into a park.  In the process, Ann and Andy become unofficial Parks Department employees and take part in the local government hijinks.  Then, when two financial specialists come from the statehouse to help Pawnee dig itself out of bankruptcy, the entire Parks Department feels the effects – but not in the way you’d expect.

I’m obsessed.  It helps that I actually took a class on local government in college, so I have some idea of how their bureaucracy works.  But you don’t have to have any kind of local government background to get a gigantic kick out of perky Leslie, anti-government Ron, surly April and the rest of the gang.  You root for Leslie as she repeatedly butts her head against the brick walls set up by the city council, shake your head at Tom’s increasingly ridiculous business ideas and Ann’s parade of dates, groan as Ron rails against government waste, vegetables and his ex-wives Tammy One and Tammy Two, and secretly wish you could be friends with April and Andy.

I can’t believe it took me so long to start watching Parks and Rec – they’re into the fifth season now!  But I’ve been watching obsessively on Netflix and I’m all caught up now… and I was right.  This is a show I really, really enjoy.

Do you watch Parks and Recreation?  Are you obsessed too?

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Exercise Your Right

Today is Election Day in the U.S.  All across the country, people are standing in lines at the polls, pulling levers or pressing buttons or working touchscreens, selecting the person who they want to lead us and represent us to the world for the next four years.  (Some have already cast their ballots, either absentee or in early voting.)  But it’s not just the presidential candidates on the ballot: there are Senate and House races, state and local government races, and ballot initiatives to consider as well.  There’s a lot to think about.

Hubby and I are prepared with our plan for the election: hubby will vote in the morning on his way to work, and I’ll head out in the evening when he gets home and relieves me of baby care duties.  I know who I’m supporting for the White House and Senate races, but I’m still undecided when it comes to the House, so I’ll be doing a bit more research into the candidates today and tomorrow before making my decision.  (I’m not going to tell you who I vote for, as I firmly believe that our votes are private information.)

I don’t usually post on Tuesdays, but I wanted to pop in here and just say this: please vote.  I don’t care who you support or what your position is on the issues, just please vote.  Make an informed decision.  Vote sensibly, vote based on issues, not party lines.  From who you want sitting in the Oval Office to who you want to make your community more bike-friendly or make sure that your local library has funding, stop, think, and then please, please cast a ballot.  And remember the people who sacrificed much more than an early wake-up call and a little extra gas to detour to the polls in order to give you this opportunity to have a say in your own future.  Think of the very first Americans, the Founding Fathers, the rogues who demanded that minorities and women should be able to vote, and make them proud by exercising your right.